A 17th Richmond County resident has died from COVID-19, the Richmond County Health Department reported Tuesday afternoon.

The patient died Monday at a hospital outside the county, and the Health Department was notified Tuesday afternoon. This is the second death reported in two days and the seventh local death reported since Aug. 27.

This same period has also pushed the amount of deaths from COVID-19 beyond what the county would see from the seasonal flu in a typical year, according to Health Director Tommy Jarrell. Jarrell said Tuesday that the official count of flu deaths is between five and 10 deaths each year.

“Obviously, many others get the flu,” Jarrell said in an email. “This year, I think we recorded 3 (deaths from the flu).”

The Health Department tracks the impact of the virus on a weekly basis. Over the last six weeks, dating back to Aug. 3 and counting from each Monday to each Saturday, Richmond County has seen weeks of new positive cases, 59, 49, 61, 58, 106 and 91 last week.

The rate of new cases slowed a bit Tuesday with only six new cases reported out of 142 new results, meaning 4.2% of the results received were positive for the virus. There are 10 people currently hospitalized, 132 active cases, 978 cases total and 830 cases who have recovered.

The COVID-19-related deaths in Richmond County have been in people whose ages ranged from 31 to 95. Of those who have died from the virus: three have been African American females, three were African American males, five were Caucasian females and six were Caucasian males.

The Health Department continues to encourage everyone to practice the three W’s: wear mask, wait six feet apart and wash hands frequently.

“Please join us with your thoughts and prayers for this family today during this time of their loss,” Health Director Tommy Jarrell said in a statement.

If you have questions about COVID-19 in general or about your own need to be tested, call the Richmond County COVID-19 Hotline at 910-417-4947.

Reach Gavin Stone at 910-817-2673 or [email protected].